Gujarat High Court
J B Vaghela vs State Of Gujarat on 24 July, 2025
Author: A.S. Supehia
Bench: A.S. Supehia
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/LPA/630/2025 ORDER DATED: 24/07/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 630 of 2025
In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 19993 of 2016
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J B VAGHELA
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR YOGEN N PANDYA(5766) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
MS VAISHNAVI VERMA, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R. T. VACHHANI
Date : 24/07/2025
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA)
1. The present Letters Patent Appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 17.12.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge in the captioned writ petition, whereby the learned Single Judge has been pleased to dismiss the writ petition filed by the present appellant seeking directions to the respondent State Government to promote him to the post of Joint Secretary with effect from 30.03.2012 and to grant him consequential benefits.
2. The facts, as recorded by the learned Single Judge, are not in dispute and are as under:
2.1 The appellant was appointed as a Deputy Secretary, Gujarat Secretariat Service, Class-I, in the scale of Rs.15,600-Rs.39,100 with a Grade Pay of Rs. 7,600/-. Upon reaching the age of superannuation, the appellant retired from service on 30.06.2015.Page 1 of 6 Uploaded by MR.MITESH VIJAYBHAI PANCHAL(HCD0065) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Jul 29 23:58:29 IST 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION C/LPA/630/2025 ORDER DATED: 24/07/2025 undefined 2.2 The appellant was initially appointed as a Section Officer, Class-II, in the Gujarat Secretariat Service on 01.02.1986 and thereafter, promoted to the post of Under Secretary, Class-I on 01.01.1999.
2.3 The appellant was eligible for promotion to the post of Deputy Secretary, Class-I on 06.12.2006, but the order of promotion was issued on 09.02.2011 i.e. four years later due to delay in the State administration. The appellant was granted promotion as a Deputy Secretary with a deemed date of promotion of 06.12.2006 and, on 21.08.2015, he was granted arrears of pay and allowances for the period from 06.12.2006 to 14.02.2011 without interest. The appellant continued in the post of Deputy Secretary until his retirement on 30.06.2015.
2.4 It is the case of the appellant that, despite being senior and possessing the eligibility criteria, he was deprived of promotion to the post of Joint Secretary until his retirement on 30.06.2015. Meanwhile, approximately 42 Deputy Secretaries, junior to the appellant (Seniority Nos. 312 to 401), were promoted as Joint Secretaries between 30.03.2012 and 03.09.2015, and 12 more juniors (Seniority Nos. 352 to 419) were promoted between 06.04.2016 and 01.08.2016.
3. Mr.Yogen N. Pandya, learned advocate for the appellant has submitted that the learned Single Judge erred in interpreting the Gujarat Secretariat Service (Class-I) Recruitment Rules, 1990, issued by the State Government on 12.09.1990 for promoting to the post of Joint Secretary. He has submitted that the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) considered the appellant's case for promotion, with his seniority at Serial No. 311-A, being the senior-most however, the appellant was not promoted, and he retired on 30.06.2015, whereas a person junior to him at Serial No. 317 was promoted on 30.03.2012 as a Joint Secretary. He Page 2 of 6 Uploaded by MR.MITESH VIJAYBHAI PANCHAL(HCD0065) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Jul 29 23:58:29 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/LPA/630/2025 ORDER DATED: 24/07/2025 undefined further referred to Rule 2 of the Gujarat Secretariat Service (Class-I) Recruitment Rules, 1990, and has submitted that the appellant fulfilled all criteria, having worked for five years as a Deputy Secretary. He further has submitted that the appellant's case was considered under the amended rules notified on 18.04.2016, and the respondents impermissibly applied the criteria of Confidential Reports, as per the Government Resolution dated 29.10.2005, which is not specified in the Recruitment Rules. The respondents admitted that the appellant's Confidential Reports were very good; however, the DPC did not promote the appellant to the post of Joint Secretary.
4. In response, learned AGP for the respondents has submitted that the DPC met thrice before the appellant's retirement, and his case was considered for promotion to the post of Joint Secretary however, the appellant was not promoted as he did not meet with the criteria under the Government Resolution dated 29.10.2005. The Confidential Reports of the appellant were not at par with his juniors, and the last employee selected, under the criterion of "very good" remarks was at Seniority No. 292, whereas the appellant's seniority was at Sr.No. 311-A. When the cases of six remaining seniors, including the appellant were considered, he retired from service on 30.06.2015.
5. We have heard the learned advocates appearing for the respective parties at length. We do not find any infirmity or illegality in the judgment and order passed by the learned Single Judge, as the learned Single Judge, after thorough consideration of the facts, the Gujarat Secretariat Service (Class-I) Recruitment Rules, 1990 and the Government Resolution dated 29.10.2005, precisely considered and rejected the appellant's petition.
Page 3 of 6 Uploaded by MR.MITESH VIJAYBHAI PANCHAL(HCD0065) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Jul 29 23:58:29 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/LPA/630/2025 ORDER DATED: 24/07/2025 undefined
6. The appellant retired upon reaching the age of superannuation on 30.06.2015. Thereafter, he filed the captioned writ petition claiming promotion to the post of Joint Secretary. He was granted promotion as a Deputy Secretary with a deemed date of 06.12.2006 and remained in that post until his retirement on 30.06.2015. It is the appellant's case that he was illegally denied the promotion to the post of Joint Secretary, though he was fully eligible.
7. The Gujarat Secretariat Service (Class-I) Recruitment Rules, 1990, dated 12.09.1990, stipulate that a Deputy Secretary with five years of experience can be considered for promotion to the post of Joint Secretary. It is not disputed that the DPC, in its meeting dated 23.02.2012, considered the appellant's case for promotion.
8. While the Recruitment Rules of 1990 provide that a Deputy Secretary with five years of experience can be considered for promotion. The respective merits of feeder cadre employees for promotion to the Class-I posts are governed by the Government Resolution dated 29.10.2005. As per Clause-V of the said Government Resolution, the last eight years' Confidential Reports must be considered, and an officer having "very good" remarks in the Confidential Reports for at least five years or "outstanding" reports for at least six years shall be eligible for promotion to the Class-I posts.
9. The criteria for promotion to the post of Joint Secretary is "proved merit and efficiency", with "very good" or "outstanding" Confidential Reports and at least five years of service as Deputy Secretary. This is not denied by the appellant. The appellant was promoted to the post of Deputy Secretary with a deemed date of 06.12.2006, and applying the five years criterion, his eligibility for promotion to Joint Secretary would Page 4 of 6 Uploaded by MR.MITESH VIJAYBHAI PANCHAL(HCD0065) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Jul 29 23:58:29 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/LPA/630/2025 ORDER DATED: 24/07/2025 undefined arise in 2011.
10. It is not dispute in that in the year 2012, out of the appellant's eight Confidential Reports, two were "outstanding," three were "very good,"
and three were "good." The DPC, for filling 20 vacant posts of Joint Secretary, found that 12 employees with "outstanding" remarks and eight with "very good" remarks were selected, maintaining inter se seniority. The last selected officer, satisfying the criterion of "very good," was at Seniority No. 266, whereas the appellant's seniority was at Sr.No. 311-A hence, he was not promoted.
11. Thereafter, the DPC met on 21.11.2013 for filling up 14 posts. Officers satisfying the criterion of "outstanding" remark in captioned writ petition were promoted, and the appellant's case was considered however, as his eight Confidential Reports included four "outstanding,"
three "very good," and one "good," he was not promoted.
12. When the DPC met again on 23.06.2014 for filling up 15 posts, 12 were filled by the employees with "outstanding" remarks, and 03 posts were filled up by the employees with "very good" remarks, which were better than the appellant's Confidential Reports. The last selected candidate was at Seniority No. 292, having "very good" remarks for five years. From Seniority No. 292 to 311-A, there were six remaining seniors, including the appellant, who were not promoted. In the meantime, the appellant retired on 30.06.2015 before the next DPC could meet for further promotions.
13. The appellant was denied the promotion due to his Confidential Reports, and persons, fulfilling the criteria under the Government Resolution dated 29.10.2005, were promoted by the DPC. The learned Page 5 of 6 Uploaded by MR.MITESH VIJAYBHAI PANCHAL(HCD0065) on Tue Jul 29 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Jul 29 23:58:29 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/LPA/630/2025 ORDER DATED: 24/07/2025 undefined Single Judge, after considering the Recruitment Rules, the criteria of proven merit and efficiency, and the Government Resolution dated 29.10.2005, rejected the appellant's claim.
14. The learned Single Judge, after considering the Recruitment Rules, precisely held that the appellant, having retired on 30.06.2015 and having failed to meet the merit criteria under the Government Resolution dated 29.10.2005, was not entitled to the promotion to the post of Joint Secretary.
15. We do not find any infirmity in the judgment and order passed by the learned Single Judge. Hence, the present appeal fails and is rejected.
Sd/- .
(A. S. SUPEHIA, J)
Sd/- .
(R. T. VACHHANI, J)
MVP/56
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